Many
people ask me why I like Hal Jordan so much. The short answer is the fact he was
a thinking man, who could figure a way around any limitation he had on the ring
(yellow weakness, power charge running out, etc.), but I think his real appeal
was his profession: Test Pilot! It takes a lot of skill, willpower, courage,
and many other qualities to even become a Test Pilot. This is a page devoted to
the great true heroes of aviation that helped create some of the best aircraft
in the world, and which inspired me to become a crew chief in the U.S. Air Force
myself...
The Right
Stuff
The
fundamental key to success in aerospace flight test and evaluation is the individual
member of the flight test team: the flight test pilot, of course, but nowadays
the trained flight test engineer and navigator as well. Without him – and
increasingly, her – the fundamental work of the Air Force Flight Test Center
at Edwards Air Force Base would literally be impossible.
Bravery
and flying skills of the highest order have always been requirements for the flight
test mission, but much more is demanded of today’s flight test professionals:
scientific and engineering knowledge, critical and reasoned judgment, and managerial
skills of the first order. A well-devised flight test program, skillfully carried
out, calls forth the absolute performance of the aircraft and its associated systems.
Finding the people who are capable of planning and flying such a program is not
easy, nor is the process automatic.
Contrary
to the romanticized view of old Hollywood films, test pilots are not "born"
to their talents – they are painstakingly made. Natural ability in the air
is necessary, of course, but a delicate touch on the controls and absolute precision
on the air are needed – not slapdash bravado.
The
test pilot will be following carefully-crafted flight profiles, not daring aerial
maneuvers. He must be taught to handle his airplane with extraordinary precision:
to control his airspeed to the nearest knot, and his altitude virtually to the
foot--every time. Beyond this, the neophyte test pilot must have a natural affinity
for mechanical systems, an ability to "feel" the airplane and have a
well-honed sense of what is happening at any given time. Mature and reasoned judgment
is also vital – human lives, and millions of dollars, depend upon how carefully
a test mission is planned and flown. But all of these skills would be useless
without knowledge and training – -systematic training in gathering flight
data, and then interpreting it. Minutes spent in precision flying must be matched
by hours of painstaking effort at computers, in the library, and around the conference
table.
It is obvious that
in the world of flight testing, there simply is no room for "second best."
That is why the Air Force Test Pilot School (TPS) takes such pains to make certain
that its graduates are the equal to any in their profession.
Test
Pilots make, in average, $125,000 a year for their constant dangerous profession.
For more information, visit Test
Pilot School
Many
people ask me why I like Hal Jordan so much. The short answer is the fact he was
a thinking man, who could figure a way around any limitation he had on the ring
(yellow weakness, power charge running out, etc.), but I think his real appeal
was his profession: Test Pilot! It takes a lot of skill, willpower, courage,
and many other qualities to even become a Test Pilot. This is a page devoted to
the great true heroes of aviation that helped create some of the best aircraft
in the world, and which inspired me to become a crew chief in the U.S. Air Force
myself... 
The
fundamental key to success in aerospace flight test and evaluation is the individual
member of the flight test team: the flight test pilot, of course, but nowadays
the trained flight test engineer and navigator as well. Without him – and
increasingly, her – the fundamental work of the Air Force Flight Test Center
at Edwards Air Force Base would literally be impossible. 
The
test pilot will be following carefully-crafted flight profiles, not daring aerial
maneuvers. He must be taught to handle his airplane with extraordinary precision:
to control his airspeed to the nearest knot, and his altitude virtually to the
foot--every time. Beyond this, the neophyte test pilot must have a natural affinity
for mechanical systems, an ability to "feel" the airplane and have a
well-honed sense of what is happening at any given time. Mature and reasoned judgment
is also vital – human lives, and millions of dollars, depend upon how carefully
a test mission is planned and flown. But all of these skills would be useless
without knowledge and training – -systematic training in gathering flight
data, and then interpreting it. Minutes spent in precision flying must be matched
by hours of painstaking effort at computers, in the library, and around the conference
table.